Teaching assistant in Rockland arrested, faces charges of endangering the welfare of a child
News 12 has learned that a teaching assistant at a school in Rockland for children with special needs is facing charges of endangering the welfare of a child for an alleged incident with students in January.
Rockland County parents of students say they are concerned about a teaching assistant at the Jesse J. Kaplan school in West Nyack, which sees children with various disabilities.
A FOIL request shows that Catherine Rios was arrested and charged this week with two counts of endangering the welfare of a child after turning herself in.
She's expected in Clarkstown Justice court next week.
It also states that back in January, Rios allegedly pushed two students heads under water while the students were in the therapeutic pool and that one student looked to be gasping for air when back above water.
It says she first yelled close to the face of one student and approached the other from behind before pushing them under water.
Neither student was said to be injured.
The report says two staff members who claim to have seen what happened, told school administrators.
An internal investigation was done by Rockland BOCES, and reports were filed with Clarkstown police and the state Education Department.
Rios was placed on administrative leave and will not have contact with students.
In a letter to the community about our report, Rockland BOCES said "please know that the safety and well-being of our Kaplan students remains our highest priority. We are committed to maintaining a safe, respectful and supportive learning environment for all students."
